1/ Iran's Kharg Island is reportedly under consideration as a target for capture by the Trump Administration. However, declassified US government documents show that the same thing was considered in 1979 but was rejected because it was too difficult and risky. ⬇️

2/ President Jimmy Carter and his National Security Council met in the afternoon of November 6, 1979 to discuss the ongoing Iranian hostage crisis. The discussion involved options for putting pressure on the Khomenei regime, including targeting Kharg Island.

3/ Kharg Island lies 25 km (16 miles) off the coast of Iran at the northern end of the Persian Gulf. It was built up as a deep water oil terminal in the 1960s, providing an ideal oil loading point for supertankers. 90% of Iran's oil exports pass through the island.

4/ The Carter National Security Council discussed the possibility of the US seizing or blockading the island as a bargaining chip to use in demanding the release of the 52 US hostages being held by Iranian revolutionaries in the 1979-1980 Iranian hostage crisis.

5/ In the end, the Carter Administration decided against seizing Kharg. It had significant defences, it was so close to the mainland that it would be vulnerable to attack from the land, and blockading or destroying it would cause a global oil crisis.